


The Art of Pining

by chip_off_the_writers_block



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 15:50:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15975524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chip_off_the_writers_block/pseuds/chip_off_the_writers_block
Summary: William Poindexter would stop anyone in their tracks who didn't think that he and Nursey were good together. In his opinion, they were great together. But they weren't perfect, all because of one Christopher Chow.Dex is hiding something. Derek Nurse knows that for a fact.  And he trusts Dex to come to him when he's ready, he really does. But he also has a secret he wants to share, one that he's afraid might scare his boyfriend off.Chris Chow is tired of being the third wheel to his two best friends, who are dating each other. Especially  since he's in love with them both. And it's not exactly ideal to watch the two people he's in love with constantly be affectionate to one another.





	The Art of Pining

Will would never, ever even think of letting anyone think that he and Derek “Nursey” Nurse aren’t good together. Sure, they bicker sometimes, but as they’ve gotten closer, it has become much less spiteful and much more caring. They’re a team, and Nursey knows that. And if playful punches have recently morphed into soft smiles and eager hugs, that’s all the better. In Will’s opinion, they’re great together. 

Especially times like now, where Nursey is looking at him, soft and full of affection, one arm thrown carelessly over Will’s middle. Will is sitting on the floor, typing quickly and with precision. Nursey is wrapped all the way around him, his warm chest against Will’s back and his chin resting on Wil’s shoulder. He’s watching Will’s code with bewildered awe. Which causes Will to feel a flutter of pride in his chest. So yeah. They’re great.

But they’re not perfect.

This largely stems from one Christopher “Chowder” Chow. The collective idea of him in the eyes of Will and Nursey, and really the entirety of the Haus, is that Chowder is a ball of sunshine. And they’re right. He’s full of smiles and emotion, and throws himself energetically into everything he does. He always puts others first, and Will can feel his chest tighten every time he sees him. He loves Nursey, and thinks they works so well together.

But he thinks that he loves Chowder, too.

Which leaves Will in a dilemma. He wants to be transparent with Nursey, but he also doesn’t want to freak him out. Will himself had only come to terms with liking guys recently, and he’s not sure if his boy… boy-pal would take his sudden interest in non-monogamy so well.

Of course, his lack of label with Nursey is another contributing factor to why he doesn’t want to talk about it yet. Because it’s one thing to confide in a boyfriend about a potential other crush. It is an entirely different thing to tell your casual cuddle-buddy that you have feelings for someone else.

Though, casual may not be the best descriptor for what he and Nursey are. Nursey seems quite adamantly trying to get Will’s attention right now. At least, Will assumes that’s what Nursey’s goal is, with the way he’s planting kisses on his neck from behind while he’s trying to code.

“Can I help you?” Will asks, trying and failing to keep fondness out of his voice.

“You think too loudly,” Nursey murmurs against his neck, before gently pressing another kiss to his shoulder. “What’s on your mind?”

“I’m just…” Will struggles with his words, determined to find ones that match his intent. “Wondering.”

What a lame conclusion, Will thinks.

“About us,” he adds. “What are we?”

Nursey gives a little huff, and he smiles against Will’s skin.

“What do you want to be? Boyfriends?”

The word sends a jolt down Will’s spine, and he lets himself mull over it. Boyfriends. The word tastes sweet on his tongue.

“Yeah,” he says finally. His thoughts about Chowder still linger, but for now, he let’s it just be. One obstacle at a time.

Will slowly turns around to look at Nursey, his striking brown eyes looking at him through thick lashes. A carefree smile sits on his face, and Will feels his heart melt.

He quickly presses his lips to Nursey’s, and returns to his coding homework.

His Chowder dilemma can wait until tomorrow. 

\---------------

William “Dex” Poindexter is hiding something. Derek knows it for a fact.

Ever since he and Derek had become official boyfriends, Dex has been acting weird. Spacey at random times, with eyebrows knitted together in deep concentration. It worries Derek.

Emotions have never been something that Derek has shied away from. He is after all, a poet. But he also knows that Dex has a tendency to bottle things up and analyze it through the glass, detached, as if he felt like he didn’t deserve these emotions.

And it tears Derek apart. He wants his boyfriend to confide in him, to trust him enough to share emotions, but he also knows better than to pry. He trusts that Dex will come to him when he’s ready, he really does.

He just also has a secret to share, and as long as Dex is hiding something from him, he’s not sure if sharing that thing is a good idea.

Because Derek Nurse is polyamorous, and casually asking his boyfriend of three weeks if they could collectively date their best friend is not something he was taught how to do.

Derek is currently sitting on the bottom bunk, which is technically Dex’s, but it’s comfy and smells like him, and Dex hasn’t kicked him out yet. Derek is absentmindedly writing poems for his lit class, mostly just silly little haikus about Dex’s freckles, Dex’s eyes, Dex’s voice. 

Dex is sitting at his desk, running code. 

Derek hums softly, admiring his pretty boyfriend. He’s so cute when he’s concentrating.

It takes Derek a couple minutes to tear himself away from Dex, and when he does, he finally thinks he knows what he’s writing for class tomorrow. He’s maybe a line or two in when Dex spins around in his chair and looks directly at Derek.

“Hey, Nurse.”

Derek gives a distracted grunt, scribbling the words he thinks of quickly before glancing up at his boyfriend.

“Can we talk?” Ice shoot through Derek’s veins at the implications of those words, but he nods anyway.

“Sure, babe, What’s up?”

Derek doesn’t miss the flush on Dex’s skin, and barely holds back a smirk.

“Well, I wanted to talk about Chowder.”

To Derek’s dismay, Dex seems uncomfortable. Derek chastises himself for not being better at hiding his pathetic crush, and immediately begins to blame himself for scaring Dex off.

“So, um, don’t take this the wrong way, because you’re cute and all, and I really like you-”

-but it’s weird that you like Chowder and me so I’m going to have to break up with you. And ask you to leave the Haus forever, Derek’s brain unhelpfully supplies.

“-but I really like Chowder too and I don’t really know what to do about it,” Dex finishes.

It’s as if the air is stolen from Derek’s lungs. The world seems to be spinning just a little too fast because it’s all too good to be true, and in a heartbeat he’s up out of Dex’s bed and moving towards his boyfriend. Dex’s face is marred with worry, and Derek kneels in front of him and takes Dex’s hands in his own.

“Hey,” Derek draws the word out slowly and softly, treating Dex like a wounded animal. “I understand. I like him too. I was actually trying to find a way to tell you.”

Derek pauses, wanting to relish the look of Dex’s face, bright and bewildered. This boy is perfect.

“I’ve known that I’m polyamorous for a while now,” Derek continues. “But I wasn’t sure if that would ever be something you want, so I didn’t want to scare you by bringing it up.”

“So what can we do?” Dex asks, eyes wide and innocent and not quite believing.

“We hope that Chowder feels the same.”

\---------------

Chris understands most of the LGBTQIA+ labels better than most other people. He did grow up in North California, after all. He has always seen sexuality, especially his, as fluid, and has long since accepted that he is what many would consider “weird” in that department.

He’s also hopelessly in love with his best friends.

It’s not something that hit Chris immediately. There was no point where he woke up and the air was knocked from his lungs and he knew he was in love. It was a gradual thing. It was the pang of longing he felt when he saw his friends being soft with one another. The joy he felt when he started noticing that their fighting was decreasing. The flutter in his heart when either of them smiled at him.

Chris knows, rationally, that it’s a long shot. It’s statistically unlikely for his two best friends, who are dating one another, to not only be open to the idea of a polyamorous relationship, but also like him in particular. So, he tries really hard to keep himself from hoping for Dex and Nursey, but it’s hard.

It’s hard because every time Dex locks eyes with him, he feels like he’s on fire. It’s hard because Nursey’s smile steals his breath away. It’s hard because they’re so cute together and Chris is so hopelessly in love. But most of all, it’s hard because sometimes, when Chris lets his guard down and lets himself look, really look at his friends, the tenderness in their eyes makes him think that they may love him too.

Chris has been trying to third wheel less, lately. Every evening with Dex and Nursey is just so much more personal, now. And Chris loves it, but he knows he can’t continue to feed the asinine demon inside of him, which flourishes off of the voyeurism he feels like he’s indulging in.

It’s gotten… Mixed results. Nursey has recently begun to walk him to class, and Dex has been talking about doing extra practice with him on the ice. Chris’ hopes have been inching up higher and higher, slowly and without his consent. He hates it.

So it needs to end today.

Christopher Chow would be lying if he said he had a plan going in to this. Because he definitely doesn't. All he knows is that he is going to be honest with Dex and Nursey, and hope that he doesn’t lose his friends, forever.

It starts with him asking if he can join Dex and Nursey to do homework that evening. Chris is sure he’s imagining the way that Nurey’s eyes light up when he asks, just like he mistakes the slight twitch in Dex’s lips to be joy and not annoyance. Chris writes off his reaction to those nonexistent cues as anxiety, nervousness for that evening.

Dex and Nursey are constantly complaining about their lack of room in their... well, room. To save space they’ve bunked their bed, but bunked beds and wall shelves can only do so much. Dex and Nursey have thus far made it their mission to whine at Chris until he lets them into his room (which isn’t any bigger. In fact, with all the Sharks merchandise, he’s certain it’s more cramped than Dex and Nursey’s, not less.). Still, Chris feels an overwhelming sense of affection as he walks into the room, and he automatically relaxes to its cozy atmosphere.

Dex is working at his desk when he comes in, and Nursey is laying on Dex’s bed. Nursey’s laying on his stomach, propped up by his elbow, and seemingly deeply into whatever he’s writing. Possibly poetry. It’s probably poetry.

Dex, on the other hand, is entirely absorbed in whatever impossible coding assignment his professors have assigned him this time. His tongue pokes barely out past his lips, and his his face is scrunched up in concentration. Chris is blown away by how beautiful they both are.

It’s also impossible for Chris not to be moved by the evidently “Chowder-sized” place they’ve left him on the floor. Chris knows that he has a tendency to spread himself out when doing homework, with papers spread around him and with plenty of room to let his long, awkward limbs fidget as necessary. He’s touched.

Chris settles himself on the floor, and lets himself spread out. His heart is beating a little too fast and a little too loudly, the blood apparent to him in his ears. He tells himself he’ll do a little homework first, then he’ll talk to the other boys.

It quickly becomes clear, however, that this plan isn’t going to work. Chris is too distracted to do his homework, and every so often he glances up to see Dex and Nursey exchanging knowing looks. He’s squirming more than usual, and he can’t take it anymore. He has to bite the bullet on this one.

“Hey guys, I need to tell you something.”

Dex and Nursey both turn to him, and Chris is eternally grateful that his voice didn’t break with nerves. Chris takes a deep breath, all too aware of how his two crushes were looking at him.

“So, um, I’m sure you both noticed that I haven’t been around much lately, and I just want to explain myself.” Chris fidgets, twiddling his thumbs and staring at his hands.

Chris forces himself to look up, but barely moves his head. He stares at Dex and Nursey though his eyelashes, and he’s certain he imagines Dex’s breath getting caught in his throat and Nursey’s cheeks flushing ever so slightly.

“I just wanted to apologize for being absent but it’s because I’m in love with you both, and I wanted to give you guys space.”

The silence that follows is deafening, and Chris can feel panic rising like bile in his throat. He felt like he was sinking, and did the only thing he could think to bail water: he kept talking.

“I don’t expect you guys to give me any sort of different treatment,” Chris rambles on. “I’ll get over it. I just needed to tell you guys so you knew and didn’t think that i hate you or-”

Suddenly, Nursey is in front of him and he’s holding Chris’s cheeks in his hands. Chris barely processes that Nursey is kneeling in front of him, but he anchors himself to the warmth of Nursey’s palms.

“We could never hate you, Chowder,” Nursey speaks with intensity.

Somewhere behind him, Chris can see movement, presumably Dex nodding along. Nursey looks at Chris with intensity, a hardness to his eyes that would scare Chris if he didn’t recognize the protectiveness its shielding. Nursey gently runs his thumbs across Chris’ cheeks, calming him down, before speaking again, softly.

“Don’t apologize,”Nursey begins, voice full of affection. “Dex ad I have actually been talking about this, and we’ve both been hopelessly taken by you, too. You’re so important to us, bright and sweet. Dex and I are the perfect pair, but only because there’s no category for what we could be, yet. So, what do you say? With you, Christopher Franklin Chow, give us the honor of being our sunshine?”

Words get jammed in Chris’ throat, and his vision begins to blur as he becomes overcome with emotion. Somewhere behind Nursey, there’s a shuffling.

Chris quickly rubs his eyes, trying to get rid of the excess tears and comes face to face with Dex. Dex is much less composed than Nursey was, all dark blushes and nervous energy.

“Derek Nurse, every body,” Dex says, waving his arm sporadically in Nursey’s general direction. “Always the poet, even when the grandiose scares off our potential boyfriend.”

A frown blossoms across Nursey’s face.

“Can you do better?” he challenges.

“Of course.”

Dex leans over to Chris, smiling gently in a way that makes Chris’ chest flutter because it’s so rare and beautiful.

“Chris Chow. C. Chowder. Buddy.” Dex’s expression is serious, but Chris can we the mischief in his eyes. “ Do you want to go get pizza, come back here, and fall into a wonderfully ungraceful cuddle pile with me and Nurse. In fact, why don’t we do that every day until further notice?”

Chris tries to stop the laughter bubbling up in his chest in surprise, and fails spectacularly. Within moments his face is in a bright grin, laughter escaping from his mouth in high pitched giggles. The tension in Chris’ shoulders all but fall away, and Dex smiles smugly at Nursey.

Throwing his arms out, Chris leaps at Nursey and Dex, arms wrapping tightly around their necks and shoulders in a patented Christopher Chow hug, made up of warmth and carried out with   
long limbs.

“Of course I want to be your boyfriend,” Chris manages to say as he tries to catch his breath. “And get pizza. And cuddle. But mostly pizza, because that sounds amazing.”

His chest feels light and he’s full of joy. He loves his friends- no, boyfriends. They’re the best. Chris is certain he can’t be happier.

Suddenly, Chris is being pushed up on his feet in the way only hockey players could do to him, and he barely quells a yelp of surprise.

Dex deftly untangles himself from Chris, and pecks his cheek before walking back towards his desk. A soft flush creeps up Chris’ cheeks and he tries to twist around in Nursey’s arms to see what Dex is doing, but instead is met with Nursey’s lips on his forehead. These boys were going to be the death of him.

“So, pizza?” Dex has already gathered his coat and wallet, and is leaning against his desk with an amused look on his face. “Unless you’re not hungry anymore.”

 

“No, let’s go!” Chris starts squirming around childishly, earning an affectionate look from both of his boyfriends.

Nursey finally unwraps his arms from around Chris’ middle and goes to gather his things as well. Chris takes that as his cue to go get his things, but Dex stops him at the door.

“Nope. We’re treating you.”

Dex ushers him him back and Nursey offers him one of his spare coats, which is altogether not new. If Chris is being honest, he’s prone to borrow coats from his friends, anyway, because the north is so cold, and his coats never seem warm enough.

He makes sure to pull the coat close to him after he pulls it on. It smells nice, sweet like detergent and cologne. Nursey’s cologne, which is to be expected, but also Dex’s deodorant, which only slightly surprises Chris. The smile on his face feels permanent.

\---------------

The three boys head out of the Haus, warm and happy, and with the sun setting in the distance. Many of the things the same as they were before, full of teasing and carefree smiles. They may be a little more physical before, and the pet-names significantly increase once they get far enough from the Haus to avoid fines, but the atmosphere is the same. It feels right.

Dex grabs Nursey’s hand in his, throwing his other arm around Chowder.

Nursey uses every sappy simile, metaphor, and analogy to flirt with Chowder and Dex.

Chowder animatedly tells stories about his classes as his boyfriends pull him close.

For the first time in a while, all three are at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> It has been a long time since I've written any fanfiction and actually posted it. All feedback is appreciated. Be brutally honest, I promise you won't hurt my feelings.
> 
> Find me!  
> Tumblr: @chip-off-the-writers-block  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chip-off-the-writers-block  
> Wattpad: @chipoff-writersblock  
> https://www.wattpad.com/user/chipoff-writersblock


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